Harry Gifford is one of the truly great players and characters to have worn a Barrow shirt. His career with the club lasted for over twenty-one years and, at his peak, he was a tremendous favourite with the supporters.
Born in Kirkby-in-Furness in 1884, he initially rose to prominence as a rugby player with junior club Ulverston Hornets, from whom Barrow signed him in August 1901 – for the princely sum of £1. It is doubtful whether any club, anywhere, has ever had a better return for their money.
Within three months of turning professional, Harry had made his first team debut and, by the time he played his last first-team game for the club (in October 1922), he had amassed a total of 420 appearances, in which he had scored 74 tries and 151 points (a total of 524 points).
Only five players in the long history of Barrow RFC have played in more first team matches for the club and that is a remarkable achievement when it is considered that he was unable to add to that figure for most of World War One (1914 to 1918) when competitive matches were suspended and the club only played what were, so far as the sports’ authorities were concerned at least, nothing more than friendly fixtures.
Harry and his contemporaries might have argued differently though for, in 1917/18, Barrow emerged as Champions of the Unofficial War League, a league table based on “friendly” matches compiled by newspapers to generate interest among their readers. Nevertheless, such games are not officially recognised for record purposes.
During his time in the game Harry Gifford switched positions a number of times, beginning as a centre three-quarter, moving to full-back (where he enjoyed his best period) and finishing as a forward towards the end of his career. It was, however, in the number one shirt that he became a true star, not just for Barrow but also for Lancashire and Great Britain. Ignoring most of the contemporary conventions of full-back play (the long-kicking and touch-finding game), Harry revolutionised the tactics of the day by introducing, with great
effectiveness, the short kick, run and tackle, by which he turned defence into potential attack.
In 1908/09 Harry Gifford had a marvellous season, becoming the first Barrow player to gain international honours in the thirteen-a-side code when he represented the Northern Union (nowadays Great Britain) against the touring Australians on two occasions.
He also played four times for England during that campaign and a total of nine times for Lancashire between 1906/07 and 1909/10.
